Blockchain startup 20|30 reportedly raised 3 million pounds ($3.93 million) through the sale of Ethereum-based equity tokens on the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) turquoise equity trading platform. Working in collaboration with LSEG and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, along with distributed ledger startup Nivaura, 20|30 aims to demonstrate that company equity can be tokenized and issued with a fully compliant custody, clearing and settlement system, and intends to offer secondary transfers of the tokenized equity following the success of the initial pilot. Last Friday, Arca, a Los Angeles-based digital asset manager, filed a prospectus with the SEC seeking approval for a tokenized bond fund envisioned as a quasi-stablecoin with a target net asset value of $1 per share. The fund would help protect investors against high volatility through investments in U.S. Treasury securities. With the proliferation of new use cases, a major multinational technology company is spearheading the development of a "Token Taxonomy Framework" to begin developing common technical standards for tokens across various blockchain protocols.

Recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service noted the high degree of regulatory overlap and confusion likely to result from 2018 Federal court decisions that upheld the Commodities Futures Trading Commission's broad enforcement authority to act against fraud in the sale of virtual currencies due to their status as commodities. In other U.S. regulatory news, the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, led by Rep. Emmer, has called on the IRS to update its 2014 guidance regarding how virtual currency holders should calculate and track the basis of their holdings. In Japan, according to reports, the Financial Services Agency will soon require cryptocurrency exchanges to exercise greater internal oversight over cold-storage wallets to help protect against insider theft. And in France, after establishing one of the first national laws that allows organizations to apply for certification to issue and trade cryptocurrencies, the French government is calling its European Union partner states to adopt the same framework, which seeks to offer greater protections to investors while generating tax revenues.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.